Domestic abuse 999 pilot launched after murders

Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem were murdered in 2018 by Janbaz Tarin, after a string of reports to police about the violence he meted out

Domestic abuse specialists are to be embedded in the 999 control rooms of five police forces with the aim of providing better support for victims.

The pilot, known as "Raneem's Law", comes after Raneem Oudeh, 22, was murdered along with her mother Khaola Saleem at the hands of Ms Oudeh's ex-partner Janbaz Tarin, in 2018.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the move as part of a bid by the Labour Party to "overhaul" emergency responses by the police to domestic abuse.

The specialists will join the control rooms for the West Midlands, Northumbria, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Humberside forces.

The independent domestic abuse specialists come from women's aid charities.

The government has confirmed there will be £2.2m made available to fund the first stages of Raneem's Law over the next financial year.

In 2024 Cooper, who was then shadow home secretary, had floated the idea of the initiative after what she called "missed opportunities" by agencies to protect the two women, who were killed in Solihull.

In November 2022, an inquest concluded mistakes made by West Midlands Police "materially contributed" to their deaths.

On the night they were killed by Tarin, Ms Oudeh called the force four times to report concerns about her safety.

It had previously responded to 10 domestic abuse incidents linked to violence at Tarin's hands and five officers have been subsequently disciplined over the force's failings.

Nour Norris says Raneem's Law will ensure no family suffers like hers

Nour Norris, lead campaigner, aunt and sister of Ms Oudeh and Ms Saleem, said: "Raneem deserved the help she needed, my sister, Khaola, who broke my heart because she was caught in all of this, deserved to live around her children.

"This is not just about saving lives, it is also about ensuring that victims who survive have the chance to truly live, free from fear and harm.

"They deserve safety, dignity, and a future. We cannot wait for another tragedy. We must build the safeguards that should have been there all along."

As part of the pilot, the specialists will review incoming domestic abuse calls and offer advice to officers responding to incidents on the ground.

They will also facilitate training sessions on domestic abuse for force control room staff and ensure victims are referred to specialist support services.

In 2024, as shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper floated the idea of putting domestic violence specialists into police emergency control rooms

Speaking after announcing the new policy, Cooper said: "West Midlands Police has been determined to learn the lessons from the way Raneem and her mother were so badly failed and it is welcome that they, Bedfordshire, Humberside, Northumbria and Northamptonshire are all pioneering this ambitious approach to deliver the best possible response to victims at the worst time of their lives.

"We need to change the future for others, where we couldn't for Raneem, as part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade."

It is hoped these first five specialists will help facilitate a national roll-out across all 43 police forces across England and Wales.

'Got to prevent this happening'

Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said she hoped the initiative would be rolled out to at least another five "to have come on by the end of the year".

"There will never ever be the volume ever to deal [with it], so that every single person got their own social worker, their own police officer. The volume is so great," she told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

"The government's strategy on violence against women and girls... will be published early summer.

"We've got to look at it through a different angle. We've got to start trying to prevent this happening.

"I am sort of frankly a little bit sick over the years of just putting slightly nicer softer plasters over the cuts and bruises and making one bit of a service slightly better."

In relation to the deaths of Ms Oudeh and Ms Saleem, West Midlands Police said while their killer was jailed for life, "it was clear we could have done more to join-up previous incidents of abuse and recognise the risk that the killer posed".

The force added it had made "major improvements to the way we support people suffering domestic abuse since then and hope this new pilot will improve our service even further".